The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program has helped more than 725,000 Florida students attend a postsecondary institution.

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program was created to establish a lottery-funded scholarship program to reward any Florida high school graduate who merits recognition of high academic achievement. The graduate must enroll in a degree program, certificate program or applied technology program at an eligible Florida public or private postsecondary education institution.

Students who complete a standard diploma may be considered for a Bright Futures Scholarship or other grant awarded through the state. In order to be considered, the student must complete the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) between October 1^st and the day of their graduation senior year. (It cannot be completed early.)

Bright Futures awards include:

• Florida Academic Scholars award (FAS),
• Florida Medallion Scholars award (FMS),
• Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award (GSC), and the
• Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award (GSV). 

Click the link to learn more about the specific requirements for each scholarship.

Learn more about Bright Futures.

Your Bright Futures GPA, courses taken in high school (and high school courses taken in middle school), grades in required courses, eligible paid work hours and/or eligible volunteer hours, and SAT, CLT, or ACT scores are reviewed when evaluating your Bright Futures eligibility. Eligibility is determined by the state, not your high school. 

Your high school transcript informs the state of your work hours, volunteer hours, courses taken, and grades to build your Bright Futures GPA. This is why it is so important to report your hours using the correct form as you accrue them. Not at the end of senior year. Click here to learn how SDOC students track their volunteer and work hours to be eligible for Bright Futures.

Your CLT, ACT, and/or SAT test scores are received anytime you request to send your test score to Valencia College or a public, 4-year university in the state of Florida, like UCF. (You can also request to have your test scores sent directly to Bright Futures through your testing account.) Your high school cannot send your test scores for you. 

Students who complete a standard diploma may be considered for a Bright Futures Scholarship or other grant awarded through the state. In order to be considered, the student must complete the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) between October 1^st and the day of their graduation senior year. (It cannot be completed early or late.) 

Here is a great resource about Bright Futures for the class of 2026.